Meet the Jews in Donald Trump’s inner circle

Woodmere attorney David Friedman is one of several Jewish members of President-elect Donald Trump’s cadre of advisers. The incoming president’s Jewish circle includes members of his own family — Trump’s daughter Ivanka identifies as an Orthodox Jew and is married to Jared Kushner — and he’s spoken fondly about having Jewish grandchildren (who attend Ramaz, a Modern Orthodox day school on the Upper East Side).

Here’s a look at President-elect Trump’s Jewish advisers, their views and possible roles in his administration. (Because of federal anti-nepotism regulations, he may not officially appoint family members to the Cabinet.)

David Friedman

Woodmere’s Friedman, 57, is one of two Jewish lawyers whom Trump has said he would appoint as his Israel advisers. There has been speculation that Friedman is being considered for service as U.S. ambassdor to Israel. A bankruptcy expert and partner at the Kasowitz law firm in Manhattan, Friedman is the president-elect’s longtime attorney. His family has a history of ties to Republican presidential candidates (it hosted President Reagan for a Shabbat lunch in 1984). Friedman has expressed doubt about the future of the two-state solution, a long-time pillar of bipartisan U.S. policy. Prior to the Republican Party passing a platform that omitted references to the two-state solution, he said it might be time for the party to reject the concept. “The two-state solution might be one answer, but I don’t think it’s the only answer anymore,” he said in July. Friedman has also said that annexing the West Bank would not damage Israel’s status as a Jewish state.

Jason Greenblatt

Alongside Friedman, Trump named Greenblatt, 49, as an Israel adviser. Greenblatt has worked as a real-estate lawyer for Trump for 19 years. An Orthodox Jew and Yeshiva University graduate, Greenblatt studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion near Jerusalem. The father of six from Teaneck has said he speaks with people involved in the Israeli government but has not spoken to any Palestinians since his yeshiva studies. He has cited the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as one of his main sources for staying informed about the Jewish state, and helped draft Trump’s speech at AIPAC’s annual conference in March. Greenblatt, who has said he supports the two-state solution, has implied that Trump will take a more laissez-faire approach to peace building. “He is not going to impose any solution on Israel,” Greenblatt told Israel’s Army Radio last week. He also said that Trump “does not view Jewish settlements as an obstacle to peace.” Greenblatt does not have any political experience.

Jared Kushner

Kushner, the 35-year-old scion of one of New York’s most prominent real estate families, is the husband of Trump’s daughter Ivanka (married in 2009). An Orthodox Jew who lives with his wife and their three children on the Upper East Side where they belong to Kehilath Jeshurun, a Modern Orthodox shul, he played a crucial role in the president-elect’s campaign, especially with regards to Israel. He worked on Trump’s speech to the AIPAC policy conference that earned Trump a standing ovation, and helped plan a trip to Israel for his father-in-law last year. (Trump canceled the trip after Prime Minister Netanyahu criticized his call to ban Muslim immigration to the United States.) Trump appears to be smitten with Kushner, often referring to his “fantastic” son-in-law when boasting of his pro-Israel credentials. Kushner may have become a household name during the campaign, but he’s no stranger to the limelight. In 2006, at 25, he bought the New York Observer newspaper. Two years later he became CEO of his father’s company, Kushner Properties, four years after his father was sent to jail for tax evasion, illegal campaign donations and witness tampering. In 2015, Fortune named Kushner to its 40 Under 40 list, its “annual ranking of the most influential young people in business.”

Ivanka Trump

Trump’s daughter Ivanka, 35, has served as the polished, softer face of her father’s campaign. A successful businesswoman whose brand is centered around empowering working women, she stood by him when decade-old recordings were released that caught the president-elect bragging about sexually assaulting women. Ivanka has reportedly tried — not always successfully — to have her father tone down or walk back some of his most inflammatory remarks, including having called Mexican immigrants rapists, according to New York magazine. She is the founder of the Ivanka Trump Collection, a fashion and lifestyle brand, and serves as executive vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization, her father’s company. Ivanka, who gave birth to her third child in March, has described her family as “pretty observant.” She made Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list in 2014, a year before her husband did.

Boris Epshteyn

Epshteyn, 34, is a Republican political strategist and staunch defender of Trump who has appeared as the president-elect’s surrogate on major TV networks over 100 times, the New York Times reported. A New York-based investment banker and finance attorney, Epshteyn worked as a communications aide for Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008, focusing his efforts on the Arizona senator’s running mate, then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whom Trump is reportedly considering for interior secretary, according to Politico.

Epshteyn, a Moscow native, moved to the U.S. in 1993. A fluent Russian speaker who has moderated a panel encouraging investment in Moscow, he may serve as an asset for Trump in navigating relations with Russia — Trump has expressed his desire to improve ties with President Vladimir Putin. Then again, Epshteyn’s temper may make him less of an asset to Trump. TV hosts described him as “very combative” and “abrasive,” and in 2014, Epshteyn was charged with misdemeanor assault after he was involved in a bar tussle. The charge was dropped after Epshteyn agreed to undergo anger management training and perform community service.

Stephen Miller

Miller, 30, joined the Trump campaign in January, quickly rising through the ranks to become “one of the most important people in the campaign,” as Trump’s campaign manager told the Wall Street Journal. He helped warm up crowds at rallies and draft speeches, including the president-elect’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. Miller, who has described himself as “a practicing Jew,” previously worked for seven years as an aide to Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., helping the lawmaker draft materials to kill a bipartisan Senate immigration reform bill. Some of Sessions’ arguments contain similarities to Trump’s statements on the issue, such as calling for building a wall on the Mexican border and banning Muslim immigration to the country. Though Miller grew up in a liberal Jewish home in Southern California, he was drawn to conservative causes early. As a high school student he wrote a letter to the editor of a local paper in which he slammed his school for providing free condoms to students and for making announcements both in English and Spanish, among other things.

Steven Mnuchin

Mnuchin, 53, a former Goldman Sachs executive, worked as Trump’s national finance chairman during the campaign with the aim of raising more than $1 billion for the candidate. Trump and Mnuchin have been friends for 15 years, and prior to being in charge of Trump’s campaign finances, Mnuchin served as an adviser. Part of what the New York Times describes as one of Manhattan’s elite “most influential families,” Mnuchin and his father both got rich working at Goldman Sachs. The younger Mnuchin also co-founded the entertainment company RatPac-Dune Entertainment, which has worked on such Hollywood hits as “Avatar” and “Black Swan.” Some saw Trump teaming up with Mnuchin as unusual, considering that the real-estate mogul had consistently bashed Goldman Sachs. But it didn’t seem to get in the way of a good working relationship — Trump is now reportedly considering Mnuchin for the position of Treasury secretary, according to Politico.

Lewis Eisenberg

Eisenberg, 74, the private equity chief for Granite Capital International Group, serves as finance chairman for the Republican National Committee. He was one of a small group of Republican Jewish Coalition board members who did not flee from Trump’s candidacy (reportedly, only nine of 55 RJC board members gave to Trump) and was a major contributor to groups backing Trump’s election. Alongside Mnuchin, he worked to raise funds for the candidate. Eisenberg who grew up in New Jersey, was chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. He has been floated as a possible pick for commerce secretary in the Trump administration. Eisenberg told JTA that he was “extremely enthusiastic” about a Trump presidency, calling him “a strong advocate for Israel, a strong advocate for justice and order.”

Michael Glassner

Glassner was not new to Republican presidential campaigns when Trump appointed him last year to serve as national political director. He worked as director of vice presidential operations for McCain’s 2008 campaign and ran Geogre W. Bush’s campaign in Iowa in 2000. He also worked with and Sen. Bob Dole, a former presidential candidate. Glassner is outspoken in his support of Israel. Prior to joining the Trump campaign, he worked as political director for AIPAC’s Southwest Regional. Glassner has praised the anti-establishment movement, and told Jewish Insider that his experience with Palin and the fact that he lives in New Jersey, not Washington, made him a good fit for Trump’s political outsider message. He also served as a senior adviser to Eisenberg when he was the Port Authority chairman.

The Jewish Star contributed to this report.